Sworn Protector
by SamusX10
Summary: Four years have passed. Sheena discovers that Zelos is not as dead as they had all thought. Rated M for possible 'situations' and language later on.


**Sworn Protector**

It's really amazing what a year of gaming and an angel obsessed imagination can do for you. This time, it gave me one of the best ideas I've ever managed to think of before anyone else… even me… (If that doesn't make sense, consult your fhqwghads).

Okay, basic plotline:

This follows suit with the "Zelos died at the tower of salvation and Colette married Lloyd a few months after beating Mithos" plotline. It's been almost four years to the day since Zelos was killed by the group (more specifically, it was Lloyd, Colette, Sheena, and Raine who killed him… the others were… doing something else? How should I know what the rest of the gang does during a monster fight?).

Anyway, our story starts in Mizuho, where the Grand Summonner (… it just sounds better than the other titles, that's all ) Sheena Fujibayashi is in the midst of a conversation with Verius, who has returned to her bearing vital information concerning the other summon spirits…

I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Nintendo, Sheena, Or the other characters involved. All I own is this story, which, depending on the types of reviews it gets, may or may not be posted elsewhere

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"What is that supposed to mean?" Sheena practically yelled at the small yellow orb of energy that floated in front of her.

Sheena had only just returned to Mizuho's village from the former site of the Tower of Salvation. The ruins had been left to preserve the memory of what the Tower had originally represented so long ago… hope, restoration of the world, and peace. In its center lay one final reminder of all that had been lost during that epic struggle against the cruxis to free and restore the world… Zelos' crystal. Lloyd had not been able to destroy the cruxis crystal, whether because he did not have the heart, or because of some unknown moral duties that forbid him from destroying his fallen comrade, the crystal had been left in tact for almost four years.

She had loved him. She regretted how she had treated him during their last night in Flanoir. He had desperately wanted to talk to her, but she had pushed him away, and eventually had called the inn's security to drag him out… He had slept his last night out in the cold, knowing what would happen the very next day. What he had to do… what he would give up to make sure the group succeeded in restoring the world to its rightful state. Indeed, he had loved her back, openly even, but time and time again she had pushed him aside like so much filth… fate could be cruel sometimes. How desperately she now wished she hadn't ignored his pleas, how she wanted to know he was with her once again… To see his shimmering golden wings once again and know he was alright.

But no such thing would happen. Zelos was effectively dead, and Sheena had a duty to the village of Mizuho now. A duty she intended to fulfill to the very end.

"The power of the summon spirits is waning." The Spirit of the heart, Verius, explained. "The eight spiritual gems you obtained in the temples was the course of their power. So long as that power was fueled by the temples they resided within, the power of the summon spirits would remain as well."

"But aren't the summon spirits made of mana? Why don't they simply begin absorbing power from the great tree?" Sheena asked, already knowing that it was futile to argue.

"The summon spirits require a specific form of mana, the type found within each of their temples. Those gemstones are an embodiment of that mana, and the summons spirits require the gemstones to maintain their powers over the elements they control. Sheena, you must return the gems within the next month before the summon spirits loose their powers completely." And with that, Verius' sphere vanished into a cloud of mana.

With great reluctance, Sheena knew it had to be done. Of course, the task didn't pose very much difficulty. All the temples had been emptied of monsters within the first year after Mithos' demise, so it was only a matter of traveling on the rheards from temple to temple to restore the gems. Knowing that, Volt's temple would have to be last if she intended to travel using the rheards. So first would have to be Shadow's temple. If she went northward she could get to it fairly quickly without much difficulty…

Darkness had shrouded the skies, but Sheena knew she had to leave now if she was to do this without alarming the village. They looked up to her for protection, and she had to respect that and do her best to avoid worrying them…

She mounted her purple rheard after releasing its capsule and flew off into the night…

Within a short hour, she was at the temple's entrance. She still had the blue flame required for entering the temple, so she descended into the mountain… The endless staircases spiraled downwards into the depths of the temple. Ever emptied of the monsters that had plagued the sanctuary of darkness, it still gave her chills remembering all that had happened within it's walls. Abyssion immediately came to mind. That monster had attempted to use the devil's arms to control the world, and had nearly succeeded if Lloyd, Kratos, and herself had not stopped him. But that monster's strength had dwarfed their own… thankfully though, he was gone. The cursed book that had given the demon his power was destroyed by Genis.

Sheena soon reached the bottom of the pit and walked towards the alter. Pulling out the amethyst jewel she placed it upon it's pedestal. The jewel let out a small dark aura, and immediately something felt wrong. She drew her Acalantha cards and turned to see the very demon that had attempted to kill them all. Abyssion stood in the very center of the room, seemingly feeding on the newly restored darkness of the temple. He brandished a large ax known as Diablos. Turning towards her, she saw a large grin on the demon's face.

Wordlessly he leaped at her, swinging his ax vertically. She dodged and the strike broke down a pillar immediately behind her. In a flash of light the Diablos ax disappeared and Abyssion was wearing the Apocalypse grieves. He let loose a strong roundhouse kick to her side, sending her flying into a wall. Getting to her feet she pulled out her spell cards.

"I call upon the hammer of-" She was interrupted when Abyssion lunged at her a second time, switching his grieves for a long sword known as the Soul Eater. He struck a horizontal slash at her, and she barely had time to block the strike with her spell cards. The mystical energies within the two weapons collided, sending a shockwave through the room. Sheena was again sent flying backwards into the wall behind her, while Abyssion seemed unaffected.

Sheena collapsed down onto the ground, drained of her energy.

'Heh… I bet this is how Zelos felt.' She thought to herself.

Abyssion charged at the now helpless summoner, bringing his sword high above his head for the final strike.

'Zelos… I'm sorry for what I did. I love you…' She thought to herself.

The blade came crashing down… but it did not strike her…

A golden light shone out of the darkness.

A blur could be seen moving faster than anything and came between the two fighters. A tall figure stood between Sheena and Abyssion, blocking the hit with a golden sword. The Soul Eater blade shattered upon impact with the golden weapon.

Looking up Sheena saw a figure she never thought she would live to see ever again in her life. Zelos Wilder stood before her, his golden wings shinning in the darkness.

Abyssion backed away for a moment, but then replaced the shattered blade with the Diablos ax. Grinning, the demon tried to strike the Angel with a vertical blow. Without a word, Zelos dodged the attack and pinned the ax into the ground with his sword. Then he spun around and cut the demon in two before he had a chance to retreat.

Abyssion seemed to simply evaporate into the air, a look of pure shock, and fear, could be seen in his eyes.

Turning, Zelos looked down on Sheena, a look of sympathy in his eyes. She was hurt, unable to move after the blows Abyssion had inflicted onto her. Zelos sheathed his sword and knelt down to pick up the summoner.

"It's okay, I'm here now." Zelos whispered to her as he carried her out of the temple.

"Zelos…?" She breathed almost inaudibly.

He looked at her as they reached the exit and smiled slightly. She closed her eyes as she lifted her head to his and planted a kiss on his lips, one he returned fully, and wholeheartedly.

In that moment, she felt as if everything was right in the world. She had Zelos again… he was here, right with her, still protecting her…


End file.
